Time to start a new stereo...

Well in my S2000 which has ALOT of road noise I went with Focals for my component speaker setup. I used four.

While they do cost alot I was able to get my clarity and my volume.

I have a JL Dub 3 12' in the trunk. I used the Alpine low heat stackable amps. A four channel and a mono block for the amp.

I used a kenwood touch face deck. It had a large range of sound adjustments and the price wasnt bad.

I wanted to compare it to my home theater system which had cost alot more then this setup for the car. I used the fit scene from the 2nd Matrix. I can say I was more impressed with the superior high detail of sound that came out of my car then what I have heard at home or a nice movie theater.

As far as speakers go I will never not use Focals in the future.

Yeah, lots of people asked me why I didnt go with Focals in my last project.
I told them that the ZR JLs were less than a third of the price of the Focals, but the real reason was just that I wanted to stick with an all-JL setup.

I kinda figured I would go with Focals and JL W6 woofers, but which amps are best? I am still a fan of the JL amps.

Damn I had a nice long reply...

But basically, take a look at Eclipse products...best on the market IMO.

ECLIPSE ESN 6.5inch Wide TFT Touch-Panel Display CD/DVD/MS Multi-Source Receiver with HDD Navigation AVN5495 | Fujitsu Ten
ECLIPSE Subwoofers SW8200/SW8000 | Fujitsu Ten
ECLIPSE Amplifier | Fujitsu Ten

I picked the alpline amps because of the low heat the they were stackable. ( they come with hardware to screw them together ). I used this tiny area under the drop top storage that holds half of the spare tire in my car.

I also liked that they adjustments for the amps were easy to get to with the small allen wrech that comes with it and they are covered up by a face plate.

I dont have any experience with another amp product since the last time I installed a system all I could afford were walmart products.

P.S. Zack you really need to hear a good movie in my car. Its breath taking

I like soundstream amps and boston components and JL subs hands down.

I think there are any subs out there that are superior to JL, you just have to find them. JL W6 is a beautiful sub, but after my experience of Digital designs, and having a sub repaired in country its such a great brand.

Car audio doesn't seem to change suddenly. the companies that were putting out quality 5 years ago are the same ones day in my opinion.

I have JL amps too, and after I bought them I came across the information that they are very inefficient when it comes to power usage. They draw a lot more current than other amps with comparable output. I'm no car audio expert...that's just what I read.

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Is this going in the Titan Scooby? If so, I had my Alpine 9886 installed yesterday. Would do it myself, but I just don't have the time. Anyway, I am looking into either Focal or Diamond Audio for my components. I heard a pair of Diamonds the other day that blew me away. But, they are $600 a pair.

As for amps I am leaning toward Alpine or seeking out a Phoenix Gold dealer. Might stick with the JL amps though.

I run the JL stealth box (two 10W3's) when the fam is with me, but 3 12W3's when I am by myself.

XR2B6T said:

As a sound tech for many years, i have always trusted and recommended Infinity/JBL. Both made by HARMON KARDON. You won't find a better sound for the price.

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That's a bold statement right there. Unfortunately, almost every speaker is better for the price. Infinity is not high end anything, nor do they make a quality product. To compare Infinity Kappas to Focal or JL anything is blasphemy!

Scoob, what sort of budget are you looking at? If your considering an all JL setup again, then JL's new C5's are very impressive for a price that is competitive to the older VR series.

Focal is a stunning product, but have you considered Arc amps to power them? Some of the best amps in the industry.

I4MX6, no need to get emotional on me. You have boldly taken my post out of context. I was never comparing Infinity to JL or Focal. Nor did i say Infinty/JBL was highend. I was under the impression Scooby was looking for an affordable, loud but nice sounding component system for his daily driven Nissan Titan which BSmoothXTR had mentioned in his post. As i read Scoobys post more it sounds like he aiming for a competition type set up. High DB Subs/Amps/Components. In that case i think we all know JL Audio is one of the best ways to go for that. -Peace

I myself have Eclipse highs, and 2 12" Memphis subs that came out of my Jetta, and are going into the 6. Ifthe Memphis subs don't go in, the Kaptions will... I have a soundstream 4ch powering the highs, and a rodek for the subs. I may ditch the rodek for a hifonics brutus though. It's much more power efficient than the rodek. Although the rodek for being a REAL old school amp still puts most class d "high power" amps to shame, but takes your electrical system for a ride if you don't have it done properly

Well seeing as I spent just a little over $14k on my last car stereo, I am definitely not looking for a bargain, but I don't want to spend more than is warranted either.

I just got some interesting news that may change my plans. My wife's Honda Pilot is on lease which is expiring in 4 months. I figured since she drives a mid-size SUV she would want another one or upgrade to a full-size. Nope, she wants to drive my Titan.

You know what that means? That means I can drive anything I want (as long as it is 4wd/AWD and 4 doors).
So I am going to look at an Evo X tomorrow.

I still want to put a nice system in the Titan, but I probably wont go as crazy with it since it will be my wife's.

you'll enjoy the Evo X's Rockford system. That car has little road noise, lots of sound damping. Far cry from the rally machine of the previous generations

Well I am about to start this stereo project. Here is what I am thinking right now:

Kenwood DDX512 Head Unit (does DVDs and iPod Audio/Video)
Sirius SCV1 Recvr with Backseat TV
Overhead screen for back seat (not sure what brand yet, but it does not need a DVD player since there is one in the head unit)
JL Audio Stealthbox 2 10W3s
JL XR components and coaxials (still have them from an older install)
JL GMAX Amp
JL G2250 Amp

I am not totally sold on the amps. But since everything is already JL, I might as well stick with it again...

Looks like a good setup to me. I personally use Kenwood HU and JL, Boston, or MBQuart for speakers. I use Soundstream and PPI amps and would like to try JL one day. So let me know how the setup turns out. Good Luck.

Scooby said:

Well I am about to start this stereo project. Here is what I am thinking right now:

Kenwood DDX512 Head Unit (does DVDs and iPod Audio/Video)
Sirius SCV1 Recvr with Backseat TV
Overhead screen for back seat (not sure what brand yet, but it does not need a DVD player since there is one in the head unit)
JL Audio Stealthbox 2 10W3s
JL XR components and coaxials (still have them from an older install)
JL GMAX Amp
JL G2250 Amp

I am not totally sold on the amps. But since everything is already JL, I might as well stick with it again...

Click to expand...

Have you maybe considered one of the new Alpine headunits with the Imprint software? If the dealer has the Imprint unit, then it supposedly does an amazing job of doing a final tune on the system. I'd look at that before the Kenwood. But other than that, everything sounds like it will make a great setup!

I am running an Alpine with Imprint. Love it. But, I am partial to Alpine.

What's the deal with all JL Audio? Has the quality gotten better since 10 years ago?

A friend of mine blew up three 12W6s in the span of two months. All he was running was an M50 :shrug:

I personally would've gone with MTX Thunder subs, Concept amps and Eclipse HD Radio/Nav head unit. But this is just me, and it's your money